Village pub wins ‘rural Oscar’ regional award

A trip to the Houses of Parliament is the reward for the owners of popular Rutland pub The Kings Arms after winning a major accolade.

The pub, in Wing, has been announced as the regional winner in the Countryside Alliance 2017 awards.

The awards, nicknamed the ‘Rural Oscars’, are the Countryside Alliance’s annual celebration of British food and farming.

The Kings Arms, a 17th century inn in the heart of Rutland which has had two AA rosettes since 2008 and an AA breakfast award since 2010, previously reached the finals of the Countryside Alliance awards two years ago.

James Goss, chef and a partner in the business, recalled: “On that occasion we were in the food category and up against some awesome, and much bigger, businesses from across the country.

“We were the first pub to get so far in the food category and it certainly inspired us.”

The 2017 awards attracted thousands of nominations across England and Wales, with the Countryside Alliance introducing a pub category for the first time - the Kings Arms winning the Midlands regional award.

James added: “We are really chuffed to win the regional award. It is brilliant, and so nice to be recognised for what we do.

“We are vehemently committed to the farm-to-fork ethos, with everything made in house. We aim to be more than just a place to come and eat, it is important to us to be an integral part of the community.”

The Kings Arms is very much a family affair, with James’ wife Kate the business manager, and his father David the finance manager and a partner.

There are five categories in the Countryside Alliance Awards: local food, butcher, rural enterprise, village shop and post office and pub.

In the pub final The Kings Arms will be up against five other regional winners - The Crown Inn, Horsham; The Swan, Enford, near Pewsey; Green Man, Ropsley; The Sutton Gamekeeper, Sutton, near Macclesfield; The Cottage Inn, Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire.

The finals and presentations will take place at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, April 25.